Amerks look to bounce back at home Wednesday against Syracuse

The Rochester Americans are still searching for their first win of the young season after dropping both ends of a two-game set to the Charlotte Checkers over the weekend.
During Opening Weekend, 10 different players made their Amerks debut, including five that made their American Hockey League debut.

Scoring leaders

1. Lawrence Pilut: 1G - 1A - 2 PTS
   Alex Nylander: 0G - 2A - 2 PTS
   3. Wayne Simpson: 1G - 0A - 1 PT
      Kevin Porter: 0G - 1A - 1 PT
      Victor Olofsson: 0G - 1A - 1 PT
      C.J. Smith: 1G - 0A - 1 PT
      Eric Cornel: 1G - 0A - 1 PT
      Zach Redmond: 0G - 1A - 1 PT
      Kyle Criscuolo: 0G - 1A - 1 PT

Goaltending leaders

Scott Wedgewood: 0-2-0-0; 5.15 GAA; .859 SV%

News and notes

• Amerks rookie defenseman Lawrence Pilut leads the team with a pair of points through the first two games of the campaign.
Pilut earned his first AHL point on C.J. Smith's second-period goal in Friday's loss before scoring his first goal as an Amerk later in the middle frame while Rochester was on the power-play. Entering the week, the 22-year old Sweden native is tied for the league-lead among all first-year blueliners with two points.

• Former Amerk Don Cherry has been named to the AHL Hall of Fame Class of 2019.
Honored by the AHL Hall of Fame Selection Committee as the 14th group of enshrinees are Cherry, John Anderson, Murray Eaves and Brad Smyth.
Cherry's prolific career as a defenseman included 767 games in the AHL with the Hershey Bears, the Springfield Indians and the Rochester Americans, collecting 259 points and racking up more than 1,000 penalty minutes.
Cherry brought his rock-'em, sock-'em style of play to Rochester in 1963 and the Amerks were soon the class of the league, reaching four consecutive Calder Cup Finals and winning championships in 1965, 1966 and 1968.
He settled in Western New York after retiring in 1969, and after two years away from hockey he rejoined the Amerks as a player-coach in January of 1972. Rochester finished strong in 1972, qualified for the playoffs in 1973 and then posted the best record in the league in 1974, earning Cherry the Louis A.R. Pieri Award as the AHL's Coach of the Year.

Game recaps

October 5: Checkers 6 - Amerks 2
Watch: Youtube Video
The Rochester Americans opened their 63rd American Hockey League season and 37th as the primary affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres Friday night at The Blue Cross Arena, but it was the Charlotte Checkers who earned a 6-2 victory in the first game of the 2018-19 campaign.
Rookie forward Lawrence Pilut made an immediate impact in his North American debut, leading led Rochester with a goal and an assist for a two-point night. Second-year forward and reigning Rookie of the Year C.J. Smith netted the other goal during the second period. Goaltender Scott Wedgewood, who also made his Rochester debut, made 33 saves.
"We were not ready to play and it's on me and the leadership team," captain Kevin Porter said. "We dug ourselves a hole and we were able to battle back but credit them. They are a good team, but we made them look like NHL All-Stars tonight."
October 6: Checkers 4 - Amerks 2
Watch: Youtube Video
For the second night in a row, the Rochester Americans dropped a contest to the high-powered Charlotte Checkers, falling 4-2 Saturday night at The Blue Cross Arena in the second game of the weekend between the two teams.
Eric Cornel and newcomer Wayne Simpson each tallied their first goals of the campaign while goaltender Scott Wedgewood made 28 saves in his second straight defeat.
"Every game can be a learning experience," defenseman Zach Redmond, who earned a secondary assist on Cornel's first-period goal, said. "It sucks to experience this right away as you would like to start off hot, but it's only two games. You don't want to get too down about it, but we know we have areas that we need to clean up."
"In the third period, we were much better," Amerks head coach Chris Taylor said. "I thought we played as a five-man unit. We were pinching at the right times, the forwards were backing up and we were on our toes. Guys started to look comfortable and it's going to take some time to get the results we're hoping for."
"We know it is going to take time and it is a process."

Coming up

The Amerks usher in Week Two of the season as they host the Syracuse Crunch on Wednesday at The Blue Cross Arena at 7:05 p.m.
The contest will be the first meeting between the two rivals since the Crunch eliminated Rochester in the third game of the North Division Semifinals this past spring. Following the game, the Amerks travel to Webster Bank Arena for a weekend road set with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
For tickets and updates throughout the season, be sure to check out Amerks.com.